


Learning

by hunters_retreat



Series: Further Interruptions [40]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: Alphonse is a good brother, Ed loves Roy, M/M, Roy loved Ed, Working things out, family fic, parenting is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 13:40:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18550912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunters_retreat/pseuds/hunters_retreat
Summary: They weren’t perfect.  Some nights Roy couldn’t avoid late night meetings or having to stay to work on paperwork that couldn’t leave the office.  Some days, Ed was too drained to do more than put on a brave face for them.  They were getting better though.  They were working it out.





	Learning

**Author's Note:**

> Beta'd by my lovely Kzellr. Just finishing out this set of stories with a little hopeful piece. Hope you enjoy!

 

“Gracia is amazing,” Alphonse said as he pulled the quiche out from the oven. 

Ed laughed because he was just grateful that the recipe had worked out.  He’d had it at Gracia’s a few weeks ago and this was the first time he’d tried cooking it himself.  Bacon-wrapped asparagus sat ready on the counter beside it.

“She is, but she told me the recipe is actually Elysia’s.  She’s becoming as good a cook as her mother,” Ed relayed.

“We are so lucky to have friends that can cook.”

“You are,” Ed told his brother.  “And you wouldn’t be too bad at it yourself if you tried.”

Alphonse laughed.  “I’ll get right on that.”

Before Ed could tease his brother any further about his imaginary lack of cooking skills, they heard the front door close.  Ed watched the kitchen door, hoping, but not certain of what would happen next.  Last night he and Roy had the worst fight since they’d gotten married.  Honestly, their worst fight since they’d gotten back together.  Too tired and frustrated, neither of them had been able to stop themselves.  Ed had ended up sobbing in their kid’s room and Roy had found him that way.  He hated it, but then Roy had made one of those stupidly grand gestures that Ed usually hated but needed sometimes and maybe, just maybe, Roy had found a way to come home to them on time tonight.

The kitchen door opened and Roy stepped in.  “Hello Alphonse,” he said with a smile as he walked in.  His eyes were on Ed though and Ed couldn’t help but respond with a smile of his own.  When Roy got closer, he pulled him in and kissed him softly on the lips.

“Did I make it in time?” he asked.

“Give me a few minutes and we’ll be ready.”

“Let me get washed up and I can help.”

Ed kissed him one more time, just because he was here and he could.  “Just go spend some time with the twins.  Al and I can get this.”

“If you’re sure,” but Ed could see that he really wanted to be with the kids. 

“They’re in the living room.  Which I haven’t cleaned up yet, so watch your feet,” he tested the waters with that tease.

Roy kissed his temple before he walked out with a muttered, “Smart ass,” under his breath.  He was happy as he said it though and Ed sighed softly.

“What the hell was that about?” Alphonse asked.

“We’re trying something new,” Ed admitted.

“Living under the same roof?” Ed glared at him and Alphonse immediately backed off.  “Sorry, Brother.”

“No, it’s okay.  You know how long Roy’s hours have been lately.  We got into a fight last night.”

“Brother?”

Some nights the tone in Al’s voice would have pissed him off, but not tonight.  Alphonse never forgot anything and he still hadn’t forgiven Roy for the fight that had sent Ed running to Aerugo, even if Al didn’t know all about it.  Ed was in too good a mood to let his brother’s overprotective nature spoil it tonight though.

“We were both tired and I was resentful of him not being here with us.  He was resentful of me getting to be with the kids and hurt that he wasn’t here with me.  You know how he gets about … me.”

Alphonse nodded because no matter their past, not even Al could deny the way Roy loved him. 

“We made up, but afterwards, he said he wanted to try something different.  He still has work to do tonight, but he’s trying to come home for dinner and to spend the evening with us, then he’ll do paperwork in the study upstairs.”

“When’s he going to sleep?”

Ed laughed because that was the same question he asked.  “It’s a work in progress.”

“I hope it works, Brother.  The twins need you both and you need each other.  But I’m here if you need me too.”

“I know,” Ed said with a grin.  “Come on.  Let’s get some food.  I’m starving.”

 

***

 

Dinner was amazing.  Ed got sat between Roy and Alphonse.  Al had Maes at his side while Tishy sat next to Roy.  There was far more mess making from Maes tonight but at least his hair was easier to clean than the underside of the table.  Without one of the twins to contend with, Ed actually got to eat his meal hot for a change and laugh at the antics of his children. 

When they were done, Roy whisked the kids off to a bath and Alphonse barred Ed from the kitchen while he cleaned up.  He thought about returning to the study to try to work, but when he peeked in, he saw the mound of files Roy had brought home and he was completely discouraged by the thought.  Instead, he went to the bathroom.

He walked in just in time to see Roy bring his hands splashing down into the bath water.  Maes and Tishy both got splashed in the face and they giggled madly.  Roy’s shirt was soaked through.  So were his pants and the towel he had put on the floor to keep from making a puddle.

“Pada!” Tishy yelled loudly as she looked up and saw Ed in the door.  Maes joined in with her, “Pada!”

Roy looked over his shoulder and smiled.  “Did you come to have a bath with us?”

“You wouldn’t be any wetter if you were in the bath with them,” he said with a smile.  He sat on the toilet lid beside the bath and smiled at Roy.  “At least you managed to get Maes’ hair clean.”

Roy shook his head.  “It’s a wonder how he manages to do that.  How old will he be before he stops mistaking his hair for a napkin?”

“With my genes, I’m guessing we might manage to break him of the habit before high school.”

“Thankfully he’ll be bathing himself long before that,” Roy teased.  “I have this handled, if you want to do something else.”

Ed leaned forward and pressed a kiss to his husband’s lips.  “Nothing else in the world I want to be doing right now.”

 

***

Alphonse left when they put the twins to bed.  He’d taken a look at the papers in the study as well and shook his head.  Ed knew he didn’t have much faith in Roy being able to do this day in and day out, but Ed just had to believe they could make it work long enough for the workload to even out.  Or for something else to give.  They had to.

Ed yawned from his seat on the couch, pressed up against his husband’s chest as they relaxed together in the silence of the evening.  So much time had been taken from them lately and Ed was enjoying the small comfort of just being with Roy.  No talk, no distractions, just breathing the same space.

He couldn’t help but yawn a second time.

“Ed, why don’t you get to sleep, love?”

Ed let out a heavy sigh and he stood.  Roy came with him and when they got to the bedroom door, he kissed Ed softly.  “Good night, Gold,” he whispered.

“You aren’t coming?”

“Work,” Roy said, one more press of his lips, and then he walked to the study and disappeared behind the door.

Ed had almost forgotten that Roy still had work to do tonight.  He washed up and dressed in loose pants for bed, but he wasn’t quite ready to lose his husband to work.  When he headed into the study, he found Roy hard at it already.

He looked up at Ed, a question in his eyes.  “Do you need something, Fullmetal?”

Ed rolled his eyes, surprised at the way his former title still rolled off Roy’s tongue sometimes.  Especially when he showed up unexpectedly in the office.      

“Just wasn’t quite ready to say good night, I guess,” Ed said as he came up behind Roy and draped an arm over his shoulder.  He looked down at the report in Roy’s hand and tried to see what he was working on.

“Really?” Roy asked, as he pulled Ed down into his lap.  “It would be so much easier for me to work if you were fully dressed.  How am I supposed to get a thing done when you show up like this?”

“Like what?” Ed asked softly.

“Like you want me to take you to bed,” Roy answered before he pressed his lips to Ed’s.

Ed hadn’t planned on this, but he wasn’t complaining either.  He might, in the morning, when rug burns were more noticeable after the passion that caused them had long since run its course, but tonight he was more than happy to have his husband press him down onto the rugs in the study and make love to him.

When Roy finally got up, he pulled his pants on but left everything else off as he sat back at his desk and went back to work.

Ed pressed a kiss to the back of his neck.  “So much for sleeping tonight,” he teased.  Roy just laughed but they both knew it would be a late night for him.

“You know,” Ed said as he was finally able to get a good look at the report Roy was reading, “I could help.”

“What do you mean?”

“I can’t sign off on anything, but I do know how your office runs.  These sort of reports, about missions and requested help, I can review them for you.  I might not be a field alchemist anymore but I still know what I’m talking about.  I can give you a quick rundown so you don’t waste time.”

“Ed, you have your own work and you need to sleep too.”

“And I need to spend time with my husband.  So, if I can help him, while still spending time with him, and feeling marginally like part of the team I love so much, what’s the problem?”

Roy watched him for a minute then nodded.  “That would actually be really helpful.  Thank you, Ed.  But if you get too tired, don’t stay up just because I am.”

Ed smiled.  “How many have you got for me to start on?”

Roy pulled out a short stack and handed them to Ed.  “I … thank you, Ed.”

“You’re welcome.”

The work passed quicker with the help, and though both were tired when they finally made it to bed, it was much earlier than Ed thought it would be.  He’d finished helping Roy with what he could about an hour before that, but he’d stayed up to work on the project for Armstrong and he thought he was getting closer.  If he could get a couple hours the next day, he might just have it.

He threw himself across the bed and ignored the laughter from his husband as he stripped out of his pants.  “Come on sleepy, get up here.”

Ed obeyed but only because he really wanted to fall asleep in his husband’s arms.  All this time together tonight made him crave it even more.  He sighed as he was wrapped up in Roy’s arms.  “This was good,” he said softly.

Roy nodded in agreement.  “Much better than staying at the office.  I missed dodging flying peas and playing the “oops I dropped my spoon again” game.  I missed bath time and rocking the kids to sleep.  I missed listening to you and Alphonse tease each other over everything,” Roy confessed.  “I missed being with my family.  A few hours of missed sleep are worth every second.”

“I hate you staying up late like this all the time, but you’re right.  Getting to be with you like this, with them, it’s worth it.”

“Good night, Gold.”

“Good night, Bastard.”

 

***

 

In the morning, they woke up refreshed and surprised that their twins had slept through the night for the first time.

In the afternoon, Ed was surprised when Elysia showed up at their front door.  Roy had a moment of brilliance and called that morning to see if she would be interested in an after-school job, watching the twins for a few hours so Ed could get some things done. 

In two hours, he cracked the code and had to return to Central Command to get the research materials.  He stopped by his husband’s office and celebrated with a quickie on the couch, before he returned home.

Roy made it home a few minutes late for dinner but with a bag of Ed’s favorite pastries for breakfast the next morning and the book he’d asked Roy to stop and get from the library.

They weren’t perfect.  Some nights Roy couldn’t avoid late night meetings or having to stay to work on paperwork that couldn’t leave the office.  Some days, Ed was too drained to do more than put on a brave face for them.  They were getting better though.  They were working it out. 

They were learning how to be a family, and Ed loved every damn minute of it. 

 

 

 


End file.
